We arrived at 8:30 p.m. and left at 10:45P.M. I chose to go here instead of Elitch Gardens because this place looks like it is still frozen in the 50's. It has all of these wonderful neon signs that give the place such a classic and nostalgic feel. Admission was $2 and each ride ticket cost .50 or buy a wrist band for $16.25. Most flats were 2 or 3 tickets. There are close to 25 different flats ranging from a restored Whip from 1908 to more modern ones like the Starship 2000. All of the rides look freshly painted and use a combination of neon and flourescent lights to keep the retro feel. The most interesting of the flats was called Satillite and featured 50's looking rocket ships the spun very fast in a circle, and the rider controlled its up and down motion similar to the flying type kiddie rides at a carnival. This wasn't a kids ride though - It spun as fast as a scrambler and the tower went up to a height of 15 - 20 feet. If anyone can tell me what this thing was, I would like to know.
Enough about flats, here are the coasters-
Wild Chipmunk (3 tix) - The cars on this ride are shaped like little rocket ships and have no restraints in them, just alot of padding on the sides of the opening. Your feet fit up in the nosecone, and you can see where the paint has worn away to reveal the hardwood that the car is made of. One trip around the turns and you realize why there is padding. The lateral forces on this ride are very strong and you bump around the car. Even better, the car wobbles side to side so on each turn it leans outward slightly, giving the impression that you will fall out. the age of this ride only helps add to that fear. The other cool feature is the small bunny hills that run on both sides of the turns in the middle. You actually get a little air over them. the third run of hills is directly under the first which creates a neat tunnel like effect, just don't raise your arms
. Overall with bonus points for the rides age and unique qualities I'd say 7/10 .
Cyclone (4 tix) - This coaster had the longest line in the park (still only 10min) because of an ACE event held there that day and the one to be held at Elitch Gardens the next day. The trains are made of hardwood are painted on the front and the back with staining for the sides. The restraint consists of a metal bar attached to the row ahead of you and a leather strap that connects with a clip on one end and four ring positions on the other. The ride begins with a 60' run through a pitch black tunnel with several turns that ends at the base of the lift hill. I tried hands up on the first drop, but found myself grabbing the bar quickly to stay in the car. After that drop you can go hands up. The coaster has many steep drops that are all angled so that the left side is lower than the right side. This produces a strong lateral to the right. The force is strong enough that they load the larger people to the right in each row. After doing the cyclone thing it takes a bunny hop though the structure to do an out and back run along the lake front and then back to the station with some hills in between for good measure. The reflection of the parks lights in the lake make for a very neat view. The speed and air make up for the roughness of the ride and it was a very pleasant suprise. It is a great ride for both adults and kids with plenty of screaming from the little ones (especially in the tunnel). Overall 8/10
Both of these coasters were manually advanced from position to position by ride ops controlling large levers that opened and closed blocks on the track.
In addition to the rides and lights, there were several midways with all sorts of carnival games and arcades. Most games were only a buck or two. If I can find a way to get my pictures to the internet, I will post a link but don't hold your breath. I reccomend visiting the parks website link on RCDB if you want to see what I am talking about.
Most large theme parks are the same formula - different themed areas with large rides and fairly higher prices. This little park was not only completely unique, but was a lot of fun for very little money. It appealed to all ages, and did not have any major modern rides. If Six Flags wants to learn how to make a park family friendly and be profitable on a budget, I think they could learn a lesson from this park. If you are ever in the Dever area I highly reccomend this park.
